Escape pods: 10 extraordinary futuristic wilderness hideouts

Imagine watching the northern lights in Finland through the transparent, geometric roof of your own glass igloo, or stargazing in Chile through the window of your specially designed cabin-observatory, or watching the weather roll in over rugged Julian Alps from your a-frame hut two thousand meters above sea level.

The eternal human drive to escape it all in a wilderness hideaway is increasingly finding expression in the architecture of hide-outs and cabins.

The glass domes pictured are the heated glass igloos of Kaksaluttanen Arctic Resort in Lapland, northern Finland, where visitors can experience the peculiar magic of the "kaamos" or polar night and perhaps catch a glimpse of the greeny-blue aurora borealis lighting up the sky.

Snow white and sleekly curved, you could imagine finding these futuristic mobile sledge hideouts on the desolate ice planet, Hoth, in sci-fi classic "Empire Strikes Back" or maybe even on the surface of the moon.

Actually, these nomadic structures are a little closer to home on a remote island in Greenland, where their sled blades mean they can be towed behind dogs or snowmobiles over snow and sea ice.

Dutch visual artist Rob Sweere was commissioned to design them for an organization that offers therapeutic rehabilitation for disturbed children, pairing them with local hunters who accompany to remote areas and teach them about the wilderness.

Looking like an Easter egg crossed with a tepee, Fire Shelter is designed to send the warm glow of its central fire out into the landscape and welcome in members of the public who might be wandering in this former landfill site outside Copenhagen.

It is a personal project of architect Simon Hjermind Jensen who has said it takes its inspiration from the "architecture of ethnic and nomadic people." He describes it as a "gift" for those who wish to use it and adds: "It´s about being in the company of good friends, in a fantastic place, around a fire during the dark time of the year."

This astronomers' dream-come-true can be found in the semi-arid grandeur of the Elqui Domos valley, which dips in between the Andes and La Cordillera de la Costa, and provides more than 300 clear days a year to stargaze.

The specially designed observatory cabins allow visitors to observe the splendor of the constellations without leaving the comfort of their bed.

Free Spirit Spheres, Canada – Free Spirit Spheres, Canada Hanging like wooden baubles in the temperate rainforest of Vancouver Island off the West coast of Canada, these spherical tree houses are designed to give a luxurious and sustainable forest experienceEach sphere is hand crafted and takes about three years to build. They use bio-mimicry, in this case taking their inspiration from nutshells, to create a tree house than can safely be suspended from ropes in the canopFree Spirit founder Tom Chudleigh writes: "Our long range goal is to protect old growth forests ... we want to keep the footprint light enough so that it doesn't degrade the forest"

This tree house, situated between an Alder tree and an Oak tree, as its name suggests was designed and built by Baumraum a German architectural practice with a pedigree of building bespoke structures in trees.

Nestled in the treetops and giving panoramic views of the fields and woods of Lower Saxony, it is perhaps an adult manifestation of a child's dream come true.

This rugged dwelling is described by designers Ensamble Studio as a "piece of nature built with earth, full of air." So it's perhaps fitting that a calf called Paulina did much of the building work. Bales of hay were tightly stacked on the ground forming a mass that concrete was poured over. Once dry, cuts were made into the amorphous stone so that Paulina the calf could start eating the hay inside.

It took her a year to get through the hay and when she was done, she had grown into a 300 pound adult. Ensamble turned the space she left into a hideout that is both organic and contemporary, with stunning views of the coastline of Galicia out of the window.

Riffing off the refuge that wild animals find in tree trunks, the designers of this refuge Bruit du frigo also give us a visual clue that it is for the suburban seeker of sanctuary by adding an industrial edge.

For urban hikers in the green spaces of Aquitaine, this "refuge periurbaine" has no electricity or running water but will comfortably sleep nine.

This inhabitable cocoon has literally been woven into the landscape, using cedar strips. It is a monocoque structure, meaning that its load is supported by the skin, working in much the same way as an egg shell.

The site-specific hideout, by AA Design & Make, sits at the edge of a forest clearing in Hook Park, South West England, and is designed with the aim of visitors closer to the trees and giving them a great spot to watch the sunset.